Round Up for Conservation Details

At the OKC Zoo, Go Wild!

Round Up for Conservation

Do you care deeply about the decline of wild animals and natural places, but aren't sure you have the time or resources to make a difference? The OKC Zoo connects you to conservation projects around the world and enables you to help save species and their habitats when you donate to its grassroots program.

Saving Species One Penny at a Time

What is Round Up for Conservation? It is a program created to help wildlife and wild places! Zoo guests are encouraged to become everyday conservationists by simply rounding up their purchases to the next dollar amount when visiting the Zoo. For example, if a guest’s total purchase is $10.73, one of our Zoo team members will ask if they'd like to round up to the nearest dollar. If the answer to the above question is YES, 27 cents will then be donated to the Zoo’s overall conservation initiatives. It’s really that easy!

Opportunities to "Round Up" are available all throughout the Zoo, this includes general admission and gift shop purchases. During your visit, you’ll find Zoo team members wearing their “Round Up for Conservation” buttons, which feature a newly designed logo to help promote the program.

Lancer Hospitality, the Zoo’s food and beverage partner, is also involved with the Zoo’s conservation initiatives – now encouraging guests to donate 50 cents or a dollar with their purchase at the Lakeside Café, Canopy Restaurant, Safari Café or Big Rivers Café.

Funding from Round Up for Conservation has made it possible for the Zoo to partner with conservation programs in Oklahoma and around the world. This includes the Rainforest Trust projects, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Myanmar, the Painted Dog Research Trust and Conservation Action Round-Up Engagement (CARE) grants. This year’s Rainforest Trust projects benefit Cameroon in central Africa and Borneo in Southeast Asia. The money donated to these projects will help save forests in areas that are being destroyed by palm oil plantations. Saving these forests will help to protect several critical species of endangered wildlife.

• WCS Myanmar manages an Asian elephant conservation project in the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range of southwestern Myanmar. Funds donated to this project equip and support rangers so that they can spend more time patrolling the forest protecting elephants and talking with local people to spread community awareness.
• Support of the Painted Dog Research Trust purchases satellite collars that prevent African painted dogs from being caught in snares and enable researchers to monitor and protect them.
• Conservation Action Round-Up Engagement (CARE) grants provide full-time Zoo staff members the opportunity to identify and fund conservation projects that they believe are worthy of the Zoo’s support.

Since Round Up for Conservation began in 2011, it has generated more than $475,000 to support wildlife and wild places. In 2018 alone, more than $127,000 was raised through Round Up, and we hope to raise even more in 2019! This goes to show… small change has the power to create big change!